ARGENTINA 1-0 BELGIUMThis wasn't a classic by any means, but Argentine fans around the world will not care one bit about that, as they are one step closer to getting their hands on the World Cup trophy in Brazil. They just about deserved it, as they displayed more cutting edge than a surprisingly toothless Belgium outfit. They took the lead very early on when Gonzalo Higuain pounced on Angel di Maria's deflected pass inside the first ten minutes to turn and fire home into the far corner from the edge of the box. Di Maria went off just before the half hour mark with an injury that Alejandro Sabella will be hoping won't be too serious ahead of their semi-final with either Holland or Costa Rica. Aside from a Kevin De Bruyne shot and Kevin Mirallas header, Belgium offered very little in the first half, and the case was no different in the second 45 minutes, despite the Red Devils sending on Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens and Nacer Chadli, but Marouane Fellaini did waste Belgium's best opportunity as he sent a free header over the bar from the penalty spot. Injury time brought some excitement, as Lionel Messi missed a sitter before Lukaku failed to make the most of a promising position in the area with practically the last kick of the game. There wasn't much goalmouth action all in all, but the most important thing is that Argentina are through to the last four, and the Belgians are out. One quarter-final remains, and one of Holland or Costa Rica will join Germany, Brazil and Argentina in the last four. Just like the tournament so far, it all looks pretty unmissable.

90'

ARGENTINA THROUGH TO THE SEMISThe full time whistle blows, and the Argentina camp go nuts - they are through to the last four at the expense of Belgium after beating Marc Wilmots' side 1-0 in Brasilia!

90'

LUKAKU SHOULD DO BETTERSeconds remain, and Lukaku has plenty of options in the centre as he picks the ball up on the angle of the six-yard box. He can't find them though, and Argentina clear. That will surely be that.

90'

POOR FINISHBelgium are committing every man and his dog forward in search of an equaliser, and that allows Lionel Messi to surge forward into space to get on the end of Palacio's pass. He charges down on goal, but not for the first time in his young career, Thibaut Courtois thwarts him with a fine save. In fairness, it wasn't the best of finishes from Messi. Will that come back to haunt Argentina?

90'

SECONDS TICKING DOWNDaniel Van Buyten clatters into Enzo Perez, and he takes all the time in the world to get back to his feet as the seconds tick on. There will be five minutes of injury time in Brasilia - time for some last minute drama?

88'

STRONG DEFENDINGFellaini picks up a throw-in, swivels and tries to cross, but Jose Maria Basanta does brilliantly to put his delivery behind for a corner. When the ball comes in it causes a bit of havoc in the Argentina area, but it eventually finds its way into the hands of Sergio Romero.

86'

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUSTThe corner is easily cleared by substitute Fernando Gago, before the offside Lukaku brings the move to an end. Time is quickly running out for the Red Devils, while the Argentines are getting closer and closer to a place in the semi-finals.

85'

DEFLECTED WIDERomelu Lukaku holds the ball up for De Bruyne, who sprints towards it and strikes it firm, but his attempt is blocked behind for a corner. What can the Belgians make of this?

82'

GAGO REPLACES HIGUAINAlejandro Sabella is happy with what his men have got here - they are hanging on for the 1-0. Goalscorer Gonzalo Higuain is given a hero's reception by the Argentine fans as he is replaced by Fernando Gago. Eight minutes plus stoppage time stands between them and the final four.

80'

CAN'T RELIEVE THE PRESSURELionel Messi tries to relieve the pressure off his defensive teammates with a jinking run along the touchline that oozes class. Unfortunately it isn't long before he is crowded out, and Belgium can start another attack. It's not an onslaught yet, but it is one-way traffic at least.

78'

HAZARD OFFMarc Wilmots is getting increasingly desperate as the time ticks on. He replaces Chelsea's star man Eden Hazard with Tottenham flop Nacer Chadli as we enter the last 15 minutes. Argentina are hanging on for the time being.

76'

WOEFUL FROM MERTENSDries Mertens is not having the effect Marc Wilmots thought he would when he came off the bench. He has a chance to float a ball into the danger zone from a wide free-kick, but he goes for a shot from an impossible angle and the ball sails hopelessly wide. Chin up Dries lad, chin up.

74'

CLUMSY PLAYIt's hard to work out whether Argentina are complacent or nervy at the back at present. Regardless, they are certainly looking very shaky. After dispossessing Axel Witsel, Javier Mascherano then gives the ball away under no pressure whatsoever. Belgium fail to make the most of the unexpected gift, though.

73'

AWFUL CALLMarouane Fellaini must have the temperament of a saint. Not for the first time in this match, the Man Utd man is penalised for an aerial challenge, when replays show he barely even moved. Belgium will have to get the ball onto his chest more, but it's hard to see how if he keeps being punished every time he takes it down.

70'

PALACIO ENTERS THE FRAYRodrigo Palacio will get a run-out in the last 20 minutes, as Argentina boss Alejandro Sabella takes the impressive Ezequiel Lavezzi off.

68'

ALDERWEIRELD IN THE BOOKSeconds after Kompany had denied Messi a clear run at goal with a well timed tackle, Toby Alderweireld received a deserved caution for a not so well timed tackle on Javier Mascherano in the middle of the pitch. Belgian frustrations are starting to grow as we tick towards the last 20 minutes in Brasilia.

66'

NEARLY AN OWN GOALEden Hazard tees up Kevin De Bruyne down the right, and the latter's low cross is diverted into the hands of Sergio Romero by the sliding Ezequiel Garay. Romero had to be alert there, as it would have sneaked in at the near post. Belgium are beginning to dominate the possession stakes now - can they make it count?

63'

DOUBLE BELGIAN CHANGEMarc Wilmots has seen enough, and he makes two substitutions as we enter the last quarter of normal time. Divock Origi and Kevin Mirallas make way for Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens respectively. Wilmots' subs have worked brilliantly so far in the competition - boy does he need them to peform here.

61'

SHOULD HAVE DONE BETTERFELLAINI! No, not this time. Jan Vertonghen, whose influence down the left-hand side has grown by the minute for Belgium, puts in a peach of a cross that is well met by the midfielder, but he sends his attempt just over the top. He should have hit the target there - Belgium won't get many better chances than that in the last half an hour.

59'

SORE ONE FOR LAVEZZILavezzi again sprints at the Belgian backline, and he dazzles most of them with a couple of tricks, but Vincent Kompany puts an end to his run with a firm but fair challenge. Lavezzi is on the ground and replays show that he did get a tread on the foot by Kompany. That looked a bit painful, but he should be OK to continue.

57'

POOR PASSGonzalo Higuain again comes forward on the counter-attack for the Argentines, but he chooses the wrong option as he goes for Messi to his left, when he clearly didn't have the pace to beat Van Buyten. It's not often that you get to say that Messi was the wrong choice is it?

55'

HIGUAIN HITS THE BARArgentina are getting closer and closer to a second goal here. After Eden Hazard loses the ball for Belgium, Zabaleta releases Higuain down the right. The Napoli man charges at Vincent Kompany, and does him like a kipper with a nutmeg, before beating Courtois with a high shot. However, his effort strikes the bar and the Belgians can breathe a sigh of relief. How huge could that moment prove to be?

53'

DANGEROUS CROSSEzequiel Lavezzi, who has looked like a player transformed today, dips into his bag of tricks before driving a great cross into the Belgium six-yard box. Unfortunately for Argentina, no one had gambled, and the ball travels behind for a throw-in.

51'

NASTY DEFLECTIONGonzalo Higuain tries his upmost to keep a long ball in play, and he does just that. He then surges at Toby Alderweireld, taking him on, before unleashing a shot that is deflected an inch or two wide of Courtois' near post via the leg of Daniel Van Buyten. That was perilously close.

50'

LOOKING FOR WIDTHBelgium look to be getting the ball out to the flanks much quicker so far in this second half. Jan Vertonghen has already had a few chances to whip some telling crosses in from the left, but the Argentine defence has dealt with everything comfortably enough up to now.

47'

LUKAKU BEING READIEDIt looks as though Romelu Lukaku is ready to come on in the not so distant future for Belgium, with Divock Origi presumbaly the man to make way. Origi has not covered himself in glory in his two starts, and Lukaku was brilliant when coming off the bench against USA. Marc Wilmots will be hoping for a repeat of that here.

46'

BACK UNDERWAYArgentina get the second half started in Brasilia, as they look to protect a lead that would send them into the semi-finals.

45'

ARGENTINA 1-0 BELGIUMThe two quarter-finals we have seen so far in this tournament have been very tight, and this last eight match-up has been no different, as just one goal seperates Argentina and Belgium at half time. That goal came very early, and after the Argentines had dominated the opening exchanges, as Gonzalo Higuain latched onto Angel di Maria's deflected pass and clinically lashed home his strike on the turn from 18 yards out. For the next few minutes the Red Devils offered little in response, while their opponents gently probed and looked for the possibility of extending their lead without ever committing too many men forward. Kevin De Bruyne stung the palms of Sergio Romero with a long range shot, and Kevin Mirallas sent a powerful header wide, but aside from that there was very little to get excited about for Marc Wilmots' men. As for the men in blue and white, they had a Messi free-kick that flew a couple of inches over Thibaut Courtois' bar, and their goal, but little else. Di Maria picked up an unfortunate injury while taking a shot on the counter, and Alejandro Sabella had to replace him with Enzo Perez on the half-hour mark. Argentina looked less dangerous when that switch happened, but they don't have to find another goal, all they have to do is stop their opponents from netting one. Can they do that? Join us here in a couple of moments for live text commentary of the second period and we'll find out.

45'

ARGENTINA AHEAD AT THE INTERVALThe half time whistle blows in Brasilia, and Argentina lead Belgium by one goal to nil as we go into the break.

45'

TWO MINUTES OF INJURY TIMEWe are now one minute into two additional minutes at the end of this half. It very much looks as though Argentina will take a lead into the break.

45'

SLOW BUILD UPArgentina lose the ball on the edge of the Belgium box, and Mirallas tries to start a counter as he tees up Hazard. Hazard plays it in-field to Fellaini, but the move slows down just as the ball is worked towards the Argentine box. That is the story of Belgium's half.

42'

DIAGONAL BALL AGAINKevin De Bruyne plays another diagonal ball towards Eden Hazard, but his touch is a little heavy and Ezequiel Garay can clear on the edge of the area. Seconds later, Kevin Mirallas powers a header just wide of the near post from Vertonghen's searching cross. That's much better from Belgium as we enter the last five minutes of the half.

40'

NOT TOO FAR AWAYMessi steps up, and puts more power into his shot than most expected, but his effort towards the far top corner sails a couple of inches over the bar. Not a bad attempt, but he might feel he should have hit the target there.

38'

KEEP BALLThe intensity of this match has dropped significantly in the last few minutes, and the Argentines look very content to just keep the ball in the middle of the park. That is until Messi goes on a weaving run that is only ended when he is fouled right on the edge of the box. This looks dangerous.....

36'

WELL CUT OUTToby Alderweireld tries a more direct approach for Belgium with a crossfield ball towards Kevin De Bruyne. De Bruyne attempts to head the ball back into the path of Marouane Fellaini, who was lurking dangerously, but Pablo Zabaleta did well to take the ball away before it reached him. Ten minutes remain until half time.

34'

DI MARIA REPLACEDAngel di Maria looks to have done himself a mischief here, perhaps when he took that earlier shot on the break. His game, and maybe his tournament, is over, and Enzo Perez comes on in his place. Not ideal for Alejandro Sabella, that.

32'

KOMPANY HEADS CLEAREzequiel Lavezzi spins into space down the left for Argentina and he delivers a teasing cross towards Gonzalo Higuain. However that man Kompany is there once more to head the ball away - the next goal in this game is absolutely vital to whoever gets it.

29'

KOMPANY TO THE RESCUELionel Messi picks the ball up in a deep position and guides a lovely ball into the path of Di Maria, who finds himself one-on-one woth Kompany. He cuts inside and tries to shoot, but the Man City defender blocks the effort and the danger disappears. Argentina have been posing a serious threat going forward in these opening 30 minutes.

27'

SAVE FOR THE CAMERASKevin De Bruyne tries to catch Sergio Romero unawares with a snap shot from range, but the Argentine stopper is easily behind it, even though he goes well over the top with his diving save. Down at the other end Kevin Mirallas tracks back to dispossess Lionel Messi as the Barcelona man looked to work his magic on the right flank.

24'

NO CUTTING EDGEThere is a lot of patient, pretty passing going on in the Belgium ranks, with Hazard in particular looking quite lively for the Red Devils, but they are just playing in front of Argentina at the moment. They have yet to find a killer pass, and Javier Mascherano ends another move with a timely interception. In complete contrast to how they have looked in the preceding games, the Argentines appear to be very secure at the back here.

22'

NEARLY A WONDERFUL MOVEThe frontmen for Argentina are clearly feeling confident now they have their one-goal advantage, and they are trying anything and everything at present. Lavezzi finds Di Maria with a good pass between the lines, and the Real Madrid man tries to dink an ambitious backheel into the path of Higuain, but he put too much power on his pass, and the latter was unable to get there ahead of Thibaut Courtois.

19'

UNNECESSARY CHALLENGELionel Messi leaves his mark on Axel Witsel with a tackle that is not too dissimilar to the one that put Neymar out of the World Cup last night. Fortunately Witsel is OK, and the referee decides to keep his cards in his pocket.

17'

BOMBING ONJan Vertonghen can really charge down the left flank when he wants to, and he does exactly that here with a surging run and decent cross that forces Ezequiel Garay to put the ball behind for a corner. It comes to nothing, but Belgium are just starting to pick up a head of steam here.

15'

DISAPPOINTING DELIVERYEden Hazard tries to get something started for his team as he tricks his way to the byline and forces a corner. This is Belgium's first real opportunity to put their opponents' backline under pressure, but the delivery goes above and beyond everyone and out for a throw-in. It has been an awful start for Marc Wilmots' side.

13'

LOOKING FOR A SECONDBelgium have yet to muster a response to that early setback, and they look like they have been caught a little cold in these opening stages. Argentina are currently probing for a second goal, as Ezequiel Lavezzi shifts the ball onto his right foot and lets fly, but Toby Alderweireld blocks his attempt.

10'

ARGENTINA 1-0 BELGIUMAngel di Maria picks the ball up on the right for Argentina, and tries to thread a pass through for the overlapping Pablo Zabaleta. However, his attempted ball is inadvertantly put into the path of Higuain by Jan Vertonghen's block, and the Napoli forward simply swivels and rifles his effort into the bottom corner from 18 yards out. Clinical. Absolutely clinical.

9'

GOOOAAALLL!!!I told you it was all Argentina! Gonzalo Higuain has given his side the lead inside the first ten minutes in Brasilia!

7'

BELGIUM NOT OFFERING MUCHIt's funny what a haircut can do isn't it? Martin Demichelis used to look like he wouldn't be out of place at a Slipknot concert, whereas after his recent chop he looks almost angelic by comparison. Anyway, he is not having to do much work so far - it's all Argentina at the moment.

5'

DECENT CROSS, GOOD CLEARANCEGonzalo Higuain escapes down the left-hand side of the area for Argentina, and he tries to find Lionel Messi with his cut back. However, the ever reliable Vincent Kompany is on hand to boot the ball clear and prevent Messi from poking home. The Argentines are having the better of these opening stages.

2'

MIDFIELDERS GO HEAD TO HEADAxel Witsel and Javier Mascherano show how intense this match will be as they wrestle each other for the ball in the centre of the park, with the former knocking Mascherano down to the ground after the ball had gone. A bit of mano a mano transpires between the two, and we could see the pair clashing a lot more today.

1'

KICK OFFBelgium get the third quarter-final of the 2014 World Cup started in Brasilia.

0'

BASANTA IN, MERTENS DROPS TO THE BENCHArgentina elect to stick with Gonzalo Higuain and Ezequiel Lavezzi then, despite the duo contributing less than impressive performances in the game against Switzerland. Meanwhile, Everton's Kevin Mirallas has been drafted in for Dries Mertens for the Belgians after a positive cameo from the bench in the victory over USA. Divock Origi is once again preferred to Romelu Lukaku up top.

EARLY TEAM NEWSJose Basanta will get a chance to prove his worth at left-back for Argentina as Marcos Rojo is suspended, while Rodrigo Palacio is rumoured to start ahead of Ezequiel Lavezzi. Forward Sergio Aguero is unlikely to start however, despite having resumed training for Alejandro Sabella's men. Meanwhile, midfielder Steven Defour is set to return from a one-game suspension for Belgium, and he will be pushing for a place in the starting eleven, while Marc Wilmots will have defender Thomas Vermaelen at his disposal, after he recovered from a hamstring injury.

0'

REF WATCHOur referee today will be Italy's Nicola Rizzoli, who took charge of the game between Netherlands and Spain in Group B earlier on in the tournament, where the former easily won 5-1. The 42-year-old has officiated in a World Cup before, in the 2010 competition in South Africa, and he was also handed games in the 2012 European Championships. Rizzoli was also the man who made all of the key decisions in the 2013 Champions League final, which saw Bayern Munich defeat Borussia Dortmund 2-1. The man who spends his spare time working as an architect will today be assisted by fellow Italians Renato Feverani and Andrea Stefani, while Australia's Ben Williams will be our fourth official in Brasilia.

0'

RED DEVILS STARTING TO CATCH FIRELike their opponents today, Belgium have yet to really fully show what they're capable of in this tournament, given the depth of quality they have in their squad. However, they have still emerged victorious in all of their games thus far, and looked close to their best in stages of their 2-1 triumph over a dogged American outfit in the last-16. Additionally they will be buoyed by the return to form of striker Romelu Lukaku, who assisted his side's first and scored their second after coming off the bench against USA. This is the second time that Marc Wilmots' men have reached the last eight of a World Cup – they will be hoping that Lukaku can fire them a step further.

0'

ARGENTINA RELYING ON MESSI MAGICSergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuan, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Angel di Maria. These are names that would strike fear into the world's best and most ruthless defenders, but so far they have all flattered to deceive at this tournament, even with the latter netting the winning goal in the last round against Switzerland. Consequently Argentina have had to largely rely on the unquestionable, and significant, abilities of one Lionel Messi. Thankfully for them the Barcelona star has delivered, scoring four of his side's seven goals in this competition. Alejandro Sabella's side have been labelled as unconvincing by many pundits in the last few weeks, but if their talisman can come to the fore again, their hopes of reaching the semi-finals will be much improved.

0'

ARGENTINA VS BELGIUM - WHICH GIANT WILL FALL?Our first quarter-final of the day will pit two sides who were backed as leading contenders for this tournament against each other. Two teams who have failed to live up to their huge billing as of yet, but have managed to scrape through to the last eight by hook or by crook. The two outfits who have beaten each other once in previous World Cups, and are keen to go ahead in that particular head-to-head statistic. That's right, Argentina will today face off against Belgium in one of the biggest games of the competition so far, with seemingly nothing separating the two ahead of this clash. One of them will have to fall – but who? Join us here in a couple of hours for live text commentary of this match to find out.